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News4's Mark Segraves tells what we know about red spray paint found Tuesday on the Lincoln Memorial. As he was there, he found that someone carved their initials onto a pillar as well. (Published Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017)

Someone vandalized the Lincoln Memorial, the National Park Service said.

The words "F--- law" were found written in red spray paint early Tuesday on a pillar at the monument that overlooks the Capitol building and National Mall, NPS said Tuesday afternoon. The graffiti was found about 4:30 a.m.

"It's frustrating, not only for the Park Service but certainly for the visitors that come here, that anyone would vandalize any of our iconic memorials. Especially the Lincoln Memorial. Especially with everything that's going on now -- the calls for unity and people to come together," NPS spokesman Mike Litterst said.

"To go to the site of the memorial to Abraham Lincoln and do that, that's disappointing," he said.

These initials were carved into a Lincoln Memorial pillar. The damage is permanent.
Photo credit: NBC Washington

It was not immediately clear if the vandals were caught on surveillance cameras, the NPS spokesman said. The crime is a federal offense.

Work to remove the words is underway. A preservation crew is using a "mild, gel-type architectural paint stripper" to remove the paint without damaging the stone. The crew is applying a layer of the gel, rinsing it, checking how effective it was and repeating as necessary.

News4 spotted additional damage to the Lincoln Memorial Tuesday afternoon. Someone appears to have carved "M + E" on the same pillar where the red spray paint was found. The letters were thought to have been there for a while. While the paint can be removed, the carving is permanent.

Additional vandalism, in silver spray paint, was found on a sign on the 1400 block of Constitution Avenue, NPS said. Any words were indecipherable.